Eastside Audubon
Christmas Bird Count – December 20, 2025

Every December, thousands of volunteers across North America head outdoors to count birds — helping scientists understand how our feathered neighbors are doing. The Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC) isn’t just a fun birding day — it’s the oldest and largest citizen science project in the world, and it depends entirely on volunteers like you.

Christmas Bird Count – December 20, 2025
Eastside Audubon
Eastside Audubon Grants and Scholarships

Eastside Audubon is now accepting applications for two funding opportunities supporting local conservation and education efforts.

Eastside Audubon Grants and Scholarships
Eastside Audubon
Puget Sound Seabird Survey

The Puget Sound Seabird Survey is looking for birders in King County to join this established Community Science program.

Puget Sound Seabird Survey
Eastside Audubon
March: Emerging Bird Song

In the quiet of the woods the bubbling song of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet erupted, and the high trill of the Brown Creeper signaled its presence. The hormonal drive to breed had birds singing regardless of the weather.

March: Emerging Bird Song
Eastside Audubon
November’s Green Tip of the Month: Embrace ...

As we head into winter, consider leaving your leaves and twigs in the yard. My pollinator garden might look tired, but every time I step outside, I see birds nibbling on seeds or resting in the brush. There’s so much life hidden in there that we often overlook!

November’s Green Tip of the Month: Embrace Nature’s Mulch!

Bellevue Offers Free Fall Classes on Greener Living

That drawer full of dead batteries has somewhere to go. So do the worn-out jeans, the broken toaster and the half bag of spinach wilting in the fridge.

Bellevue Utilities is running seven free Greener Living classes this fall. Each one lasts an hour. Each one focuses on small, budget-friendly changes at home. Some are in person at local libraries and community centers. Others are on Zoom.

For birders, the connection is simple. Less waste means less trash in streams and on shorelines. Fewer harsh chemicals under the sink means fewer washing into Lake Sammamish and Lake Washington, where herons, grebes and bald eagles feed.

Several classes send participants home with something. The Castile Soap class includes a sample bottle and recipes. Dare to Repair includes a repair device and materials. Mason Jar Magic ends with a jar to keep.

The fall lineup

  • Castile Soap 101 – Sunday, Oct. 4, 1–2 p.m., Bellevue Library. Uses for plant-based soap in cleaning and personal care.

  • Dare to Repair – Wednesday, Oct. 7, 11 a.m.–noon, North Bellevue Community Center. Simple fixes and local repair resources.

  • How to Get Rid of Anything (Almost) – Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6–7 p.m., Zoom. Where batteries, textiles, electronics and other hard-to-toss items belong.

  • Mason Jar Magic – Wednesday, Oct. 21, 6–7 p.m., Lake Hills Library. Ways to use jars to cut waste.

  • Make Safer Products to Keep or Gift – Thursday, Nov. 12, 6–7 p.m., Zoom. Do-it-yourself cleaning and body products from household ingredients.

  • Reduce Wasted Food: Holiday Edition – Monday, Nov. 16, 6–7 p.m., Zoom. Shopping and storage tips, plus recipes for scraps that usually get thrown out.

  • Craft and Learn: Waste-Free Gift Giving – Tuesday, Nov. 24, 6–7 p.m., Newport Way Library. A hands-on upcycling workshop. Participants keep what they make.

How to sign up

All classes are free, but space is limited and registration is first come, first served. Sign up by 5 p.m. the day before the class at bellevuewa.gov/greenerlivingclasses. All ages are welcome, but children must come with an adult.

Questions? Email recycle@bellevuewa.gov or call 206-949-1787.

1.9 Million Birds Crossed King County in a Single Night. Most of Us Slept Through It.

Nearly 1.9 million birds flew over King County one night earlier this month, according to radar estimates from BirdCast, a project led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, in a wave of migrants that built through the evening and did not let up until dawn.

The count, 1,890,900 birds on the night of September 5, came from BirdCast, which reads the nation's weather radar for the signatures of birds in flight. At the peak, 2:30 a.m. on September 6, about 558,700 were in the air at once, moving south-southeast at 25 miles an hour and roughly 1,600 feet above the ground. A week earlier the nightly total had been about 460,000. On the night of September 1 it was about 1,700.

The migration will still be under way on September 23, when Judy Bowes comes to the Redmond Library to talk about what happens when those birds meet a city. Collisions with buildings kill more than a billion birds a year in the United States and rank among the leading causes of bird decline in North America, according to Ms. Bowes, a University of Washington researcher who wrote the university's bird-friendly design standards.

Register for Program Night

Few people saw any of it. Most songbirds migrate in the dark, navigating by the stars and the glow of the horizon. On September nights the traffic over the Eastside includes Black-headed Grosbeaks, Caspian Terns and Swainson's Thrushes, according to BirdCast.

Many birds spend the day resting and lift off again after sunset, only to meet lit windows, rooftops and buildings.

The most effective remedy costs nothing. Audubon Washington asks residents and building managers to switch off or dim non-essential outdoor and upper-floor lighting from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. during fall migration, which continues through October 31. To see what passed over your own roof last night, visit the King County migration dashboard. The page updates each morning. Press Previous to step back a night at a time. The big one is still there.